The low success rates are in part due to some brokers and insurance companies actively deterring claimants through an intimidating and confusing approach. Often information provided is also misleading.
Organisations such as Endowment Justice who help people claim their rightful compensation, are highly experienced in the financial sector and are able to actively challenge the financial organisations armed with their knowledge of the legislation and relevant procedures. Endowment Justice is successful in 9 out of 10 cases. However, for those wishing to go it alone Endowment Justice also provides some hints and tips on its website www.endowmentjustice.com
1. The first step in complaining is to contact the company who advised you directly. This may be an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) or the endowment policy provider directly. You should write to them detailing the nature of your complaint.
2. If you are not satisfied with the response you then have the opportunity to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsmen Service (FOS) who will look into it for you.
Problems with DIY claims
The complaints process is meant to be straightforward and simple. However, this is often not the case. Many firms have been shown to actively discourage people from complaining and then to go on to make the experience difficult. This is illustrated by the FOS upholding 50 per cent of all complaints it has received with regards complaint mis-handling. The FSA has also imposed large fines on various organisations for mis-handling claims.
Some of the largest firms have a considerable backlog of complaints; your complaint could take months to resolve. Amongst the worst performers are: Halifax, Norwich Union and Legal & General. These and other organisations have proved to be incredibly difficult to deal with.
Providers take advantage of mistakes and omissions in your complaint to slow things down and drain your determination and resources. Policy Providers will limit their response to their advantage and your disadvantage. This is a potential trap for DIY complaints.
A recent survey estimated that more than 60% of policy holders who complain themselves fail to win their complaint. You only have ONE CHANCE to complain. If your complaint is rejected by the policy provider you don't get a second chance. You have to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who may consider your complaint if it meets the qualifying criteria - expect even greater delays, which means more time trouble effort and money.
To get a satisfactory claim processed through the FOS, policy holders need to provide better or more compelling evidence than the policy provider. This is very difficult to do given the endowment policy was most likely bought ten to fifteen years ago.
Endowment Justice says: “If you are going to handle your own complaint, take some basic advice from somebody that has experience in the process or, increase your chances of success by instructing an experienced third party to do it for you.”
